Hinge



April 2, 1968 F. c. PETERsoN 3,375,546

HINGEI Filed April 7, 1966 2 Sheets-Shee'x 1 April 2, 1968 F. c. PETERsoHINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1986 FGS FIG 3 United StatesPatent O 3,375,546 HINGE Francis C. Peterson, Webster Groves, Mo.,assignor to C. Hager & Sons Hinge Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo.,a Corporation of Missouri Filed Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 540,912 7 Claims.(Cl. 16-171) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge having a keeper which isplaced in the hinge and retained in fixed relation theren by movablemeans so that said keeper cannot be removed therefrom without movingsaid movable means, said keeper forming a part of the overall knuckle ofsaid hinge, said movable means not being accessible when the door isclosed.

This invention relates to an improved hinge, and in particular, to ahospital hinge having a removable central keeper.

The term hospital hinge is well known in the art and refers to hingespermanently joined together in pivotal relation by pins welded or pressfitted into the two leaves so that they are in permanent fixed relation.A hospital hinge has a rounded or hospital top so that the pins cannotbe removed and making it impossible to attach ropes, wearing apparel,etc. A hospital hinge is used for safety and cleanliness. In the past,hospital hinges had to be afiixed to the door and the door then heldwhile the other leaf was secured to the door frame. This presentedproblems in hanging the door, since several men were required to liftand retain the door in proper position while other workmen were securingthe leaves to the door frame.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a hinge havingseparate leaves which can be individually secured to the door and to thedoor frame so that the door may simply be lifted on to the leaf securedto the door frame. Another object is to provide a hospital hinge whichpermits the door to be opened and closed once it has been placed or hungon the pins of the leaves previously secured to the door frame. Anotherobject is to provide a keeper which can thereafter be placed intoassembled relation in the hinge after the door has been hung in the doorframe and then held into permanent fixed relation by special means whichare inaccessible when the door is closed.

Another object is to provide a hospital hinge with a removable keeperhaving spring biased means theren to hold said keeper in place and toprevent said keeper from being removed from the hinge without the aid ofa special tool.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The' present invention is embodied in a hinge having a keeper which isinserted into the hinge after the door with one leaf of said hingethereon is placed onto a door frame having another leaf of said hingethereon, said door then vbeing pivotally mounted on said door frame,said keeper adapted to be placed in the hinge and retained in fixedrelation theren by special means so that said keeper cannot be removedtherefrom without said special means, said keeper forming a part of theoverall knuckle of said hinge, said special means not being accessiblewhen the door is closed.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification andwherein like numerals and letters refer to like parts wherever theyoccur:

Patented Apr. 2, 1968 FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hospital hingeembodying the present invention, showing the parts prior to assembly,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the keeper,

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the hinge with the leaves inassembled relation prior to insertion of the keeper,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembled hinge with the leaves closed,

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the outside of the hinge with theleaves closed, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the knuckles which receivethe keeper.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that theembodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a hingeH having two leaves 1 and 2 and a keeper 3. The leaf 1 contains holes 4for receiving screws or other means for securing said leaf 1 to a doorframe, not shown. The door frame leaf 1 contains a lower knuckle 5 withan upstanding lower pin 6 having a top surface 7 thereon, and a bearing8 around said pin,6. The pin 6 is secured in an opening 9 in the lowerknuckle 5 and extends from its bottom 10 upwardly, with the bearing 8being rotatably mounted on said lower pin 6. The door frame leaf 1 alsohas an upper knuckle 11 having an opening 12 theren. The upper knuckle11 has an annular lower surface 13 with a groove or slot 14 therenhaving a sloping bottom 15.

The door leaf 2 contains holes 16 for receiving screws or other meansfor attaching the leaf 2 to a door 17. The door leaf 2 contains an upperknuckle 18 with a downwardly extending upper pin 19 having a lowersurface 20, and a bearing 21 around said pin 19. The upper pin 19 issecured in an opening 22 in the upper knuckle 18 and extends from itsrounded top 23 downwardly, with the bearing 2,1 being rotatably mountedon said upper pin 19. The door leaf 2 also has a lower knuckle 24 havingan opening 25 and an annular top surface 26. The knuckles 18, 11, 24, 5form an aligned knuckle assembly 27. The openings 25 and 12 in theknuckles 24 and 11 are slightly larger in diameter than the pins 6 and19 which they receive. The bearings 8 and 21 are optional features andcan be eliminated without departing from the present invention.

The keeper 3 forms part of the aligned knuckle assembly 27 which extendsthe entire distance between the rounded top and bottom hospital tops 23and 10, so that in assembled relation, one continuous knuckle assembly27 of uniform roundness is presented to the viewer (FIG. 5). The keeper3 has a cylindrical. surface 28 with an opening 29 theren. A ball 30 ismounted .in the opening 29 and extends slightly outwardly of the lowersurface 31 of the keeper 3. The keeper 3 has a plunger 32 at the top,said plunger 32 being normally biased upwardly by a spring 33 so thatits curved head 34 extends above the upper surface 35. The lower end ofthe spring 33 contacts the ball 30 so that the plunger 32 and the ball30 are biased outwardly beyond the top and bottom surfaces 35 and 31 ofthe keeper 3 and are adapted to be pushed inwardly against the action ofthe spring 31. The metal in the keeper 3 at the upper surface 35 and thelower surface 31 is staked or upset to limit the outward movement of theplunger 32 and the ball`30 from the keeper 3 and to retain them in theopening 29 of the keeper 3 at all times. The keeper 3 has a lug or pin36 extending above the upper surface 32 slightly smaller than the groove14 in the knuckle 11. The pin 36 may be circular and fixedly secured ina small hole drilled in the upper surface 35. The keeper 3 is alsoprovided with a transverse threaded opening 37 which receives a setscrew 38 having a sunken or special head 39, such as with an opening ofhexagonal or any other desired Shape, requiring a special tool. Whenscrewed into the annular recess 40 in the plunger 32, the set screw 38prevents relative Vertical motion between the plunger 32 and wall of theopening 29 and maintains the plunger 32 in its outward position (FIG.6).

From the foregoing description, it is readily apparent that two leaves 1may be applied to the upper and lower portions of a door frame and thattwo cooperating leaves 2 may be applied to the door. With the leaves 1and 2 properly mounted in their predetermined positions on the doorframe and door, the door may be mounted on the door frame by placing theupper pin 19 above the opening 12 in the upper knuckle 11 and by placingthe opening 25 of the lower knucklei24 above the lower pin 6 mounted inthe lower knuckle 5. The door is then allowed to move downwardly bygravity so that the pins 19 and 6 are within the openings 12 and 25 ofthe respective knuckles 11 and 24. In this position, the surface 20 ofthe pin 19 is above the lower surface 13 of the knuckle 11 and the topsurface 7 of the pin 6 is below the top surface 26 of the knuckle 24,and the door is free to swing in a normal manner, but, of course, can belifted upwardly and removed. To prevent this removal, the keeper 3 isinserted into the space 41 between the upper knuckle 11 and the lowerknuckle 24 with the ball 30 extending into the opening 25 and theplunger 32 snapping into an upward position in the opening 12. Beforeinserting the keeper 3, the lug 36 thereon must be oriented with thegroove 14 in the upper knuckle 11, otherwise the keeper 3 cannot beinserted. The set screw 38 is then rotated with special means insertedinto its special head 39 to retain the plunger 32 in its upward positionwithin the opening 12 in the knuckle 11. A similar keeper 3 for thelower hinges of the door is applied in the same way.

When the door is closed, a hinge H with rounded tips at the top 23 andbottom with a uniform knuckle assembly 27 extending therebetween ispresented to the Viewer and there is no way to remove the hinge, or anyportion thereof, from the closed door. With the door 14 closed, the head39 of the set screw 38 is not accessible to anyone in the room with thehinge H, since the set screw 38 extends substantially parallel to theleaf 1 and is covered by the leaves themselves. The lug 36 is positionedto prevent removal of the keeper 3 by force from the outside. Even withthe door open, a special wrench is needed to loosen the set screw 38 topermit the plunger 32, as well as the ball 30, to be cammed inwardly asthe keeper 3 is physically pulled from its assembled relation and fromthe space 41. Once the set screw 38 is loosened, the plunger 32 is freeto move downwardly against the action of the spring 33 until the keeper3 can be removed from aligned relation with the other knuckle portionsby grasping it with two fingers, or if it is too tight, by applyingpressure with a tool to pry it out of assembled relation. The set screw38 may be positioned in a number of positions, but preferably should notbe readily visible or be accessible to someone in a room when the dooris in closed position. The keeper 3 may be arranged so that the plunger32 may be either at the top or bottom of the keeper 3, and the ball 30or other retaining means at the opposite end thereof.

The groove 14 has a bottom which slopes so that the groove 14 is deeperat the outer wall of the knuckle 11 than it is nearer the center. Thisprevents removal of the keeper 3 ex'cept radially outwardly. Thedimensions of the keeper 3 are such that there is a very close fitbetween its upper surface 35 and the knuckle 11 and between its lowersurface 31 and the knuckle 24.

The bearings 21 and 8 decrease friction as the hung door is opened andclosed on the hinges H. However, the bearings 21 and 8 are optionalfeatures and can be eliminated, in which event the knuckles 18 and 24rest directly upon the knuckles 11 and 5, respectively, and rotate orslide with respect to one another on their annular surfaces of contactwhen the door is opened and closed. While the invention has been shownin a hospital hinge 4` with a rounded top and bottom and is particularlyuseful for that kind of hinge, it may also be used for other kinds ofhinges. If desired, a groove 14 may be provided on both the upperknuckle 11 and the lower knuckle 24 1 (FIG. 6) so that the keeper 3 maybe inserted either with the lug 36 in an upward or downward position.

With the present invention, each leaf 1 and 2 may be plated individuallyand the leaves and bearings assembled thereafter. Prior hospital hingeswere in practice assembled and then plated, with the result that greasewas lost from the bearings.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of theexample of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosurewhich do not constitute departures from the spirit and `scope` of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hinge having two leaves with aligned knuckles, said knuckleshaving a space intermediate the top and bottom of said aligned knuckles,an opening in at least one of said knuckles adjacent to said space, akeeper adapted to fit in said space and having means thereon adapted tofit into said opening, vand movable means positioned in said keeper inangular relation to said means and adapted to retain said means in saidopening to keep said keeper in assembled relation with said knuckles,said movable means being positioned so as to be inaccessible when thehinge is in its door-closed position.

2. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein each leaf 'has two alignedknuckles thereon, oneof said knuckles of each leaf having a pinextending therefrom toward the center of said hinge, the other of saidknuckles having an opening therein for receiving the 'pin of the otherof said leaves, said pins terminating short of the inner ends of saidknuckles having openings therein, said space positioned between theknuckles having openings therein, said keeper being adapted to beinserted into` said space to form a continuous Vertical knucklearrangement.

3. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein said means on said keeperwhich are adapted to fit into said opening comprises a pl-unger, saidplunger being normally biased slightly outwardly of said keeper and intosaid opening by a spring, said spring being mounted within said keeper,said plunger being movable to a position within said keeper as saidkeeper is being installed or removed from said aligned knuckles.

4. The ihinge set forth in claim 1 wherein said keeper is provided witha lug on one end thereof and the adjacent knuckle is provided with agroove for receiving said lug,`

said groove extending radially inwardly from the outer surface of saidknuckle, said groove positioned in said knuckle in such acircumferential position that said keeper can be installed or removedonly when said leaves are in a door-open position.

5. The hinge set forth in claim 2 wherein one leaf is a door leafadapted to be attached to a door and the other leaf is a frame leafadapted to 'be attached-to a i door frame, said frame leaf having alower knuckle with an upstanding lower pin therein and an upper knucklewith an opening therein, said door leaf having an upper knuckle with adownwardly extending upper pin therein and a lower knuckle with anopening therein, the distancc between the lower pin .and upper vknuckle:on said frame i leaf being vgreater than the 'height of said lowerknuckle on said door leaf and the distance between the upper pin and thelower knuckle on said door leaf being greater than the height of saidupper knuckle onsaid frame leaf, said door leaf being adapted to beassembled on said frame leaf by placingl the lower knuckle of said doorleaf above said lower pin and 'by placing said upper pin above saidupper knuckle on said frame leaf and allowing said door leaf to movedownwardly with the upper and lower pins entering the openintgs in their`cooperating knuckles, thereby permitting the hinge to open and closewithout having to be held in position.

6. The hinge set forth in claim 5 Wherein said pins terminate Within theknuckles to form an opening in said knuckles adjacent to the spacebetween the innermost -knuckles of the door leaf and the frame leaf,said keeper having means for extending into said openings for retaningsaid keeper in assembled relation, and Wherein said keeper has a lugadapted to fit into a groove in the lower knuckle of the door leaf.

7. The hinge set forth in clam 1 wherein the top of the uppermostknuckle and the bottom of the lowermost knuckle are rounded and the pinstherein are flush with and form part of the rounded top and roundedIbottom.

676,081 6/1901 Rowley 16 136 800,074 9/1905 c1ar1 16- 189 1,425,99s8/1922 Mcoiveny 16-176 FOREIGN PATENTS 332,638 5/1903 France.

345,935 12/1921 Germany.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

